Chance to help Scottish Women’s team set-up a Home International north of border

Bangour Fishery hosts a fundraiser for Scotland’s women fly fishing team on Sunday, September 15 from 9am to 4pm and the cost is £30 per person. Lunch is included.

Bangour fishery

International angler Liz McLellan from Armadale said the match is to raise funds to host the Home International at Lake of Menteith in Scotland next year. Fellow fundraiser Anne Boyce added: “Every little helps, even if you can’t attend fundraising events you can donate. We want to welcome teams from Ireland, Wales and England to participate with good, old-fashioned Scottish hospitality.”

Elsewhere, the fourth Donald MacDonald Memorial Day fly competition is at Lawfield Trout Fishery, Houston Road, Kilmacolm, PA13 4NY on Saturday, October 26 from 10am to 5pm. Entry is £30. Contact [e-mail].

The top prizes are Scierra rods and reels and this weekend local anglers Mike Connet and Jock Kettles are in the Scierra Pairs final in England, one of Britain’s biggest fly fishing events.

The pair motored south earlier this week to practise and Mike side: “We’re hoping to build knowledge on lines, retrieve, places to fish and what flies are working. Hopefully, this will all come together.”

They qualified at Glencorse Reservoir and owner Bill Taylor is now taking bookings for the 2020 season with an opening day of March 7 which is already fully booked. Enquires to [e-mail].

Now to sea fishing and Barry McEwan won the Bass Rock Sea Angling League’s Summer Series, but he was pushed to the wire. The Port Seton-based angler led by six points going into the final round at Belhaven Beach near Dunbar. But local fisherman Chris Empson, who was lying second, mounted a real charge on an ideal night with a fresh breeze but little swell. He landed 19 fish for 391cm to win the final round with McEwan third with 15 fish for 337cm.

McEwan earned 52 points overall and he squeezed home, but if he had finished fourth then the title would have been decided on countback.

Empson was only two points adrift of McEwan in claiming the runners-up spot in the ten-round series and the men were separated on the night by William Stafford from Edinburgh. He landed 15 fish for 347cm with Thomas Slow from Portobello fourth on the night with 17 fish for 332cm.

Results: 1, B McEwan (Port Seton) 52 points; 2, C Empson (Dunbar) 50; 3 equal, P Robertson (North Berwick) and S Fairbairn (Haddington) 28; 4 equal, D Cooper (Edinburgh), C Ogilvie (North Berwick), T Slow (Edinburgh) 24; 5, A Brown (Dunbar) 16; 6, R Barnett (Edinburgh) 14; 7, S Burns (Prestonpans) 12; 8, M Thomson (North Berwick) 10; 9 equal, J Ogilvie (Haddington) and W Stafford (Edinburgh) 8; 10, S Nairn (Gifford) 6; 11, J Cameron (Edinburgh) 4; 12, J McPhail (Gifford) 2.

The winter league starts on September 18 with further dates on October 2, 9, 30. Venues to be confirmed.

The Amble Open, one of Europe’s biggest events is on January 12 and 2020 Mull of Galloway Sea Angling Festival is on June 19 to 21. The organisers upped the boat limit from 40 to 50 but they still sold-out in seven days. They now have a reserve list.